Phytoplankton

All waterways were not created equal. Those who have never spent time studying stream structure or ecology are likely to incorrectly assume that any stream is, for the most part, just like any other stream. However, this is a dangerous misconception that is not at all correct. The truth is that streams and rivers provide a huge diversity of food, prey, and shelter along their length. This diversity can be explained by the River Continuum Concept and stems from the many different and highly…

Introduction Eutrophication is a condition in an aquatic ecosystem where high nutrient concentrations stimulate blooms of algae (e.g., phytoplankton). Eutrophication is a natural process that occurs to all lakes over time as the weathering of rocks and soils from the surrounding area that leads to an accumulation of nutrients in the water. It can also be caused by run-offs of fertilisers. Three of the key components of modern fertilisers are nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. After a rainy…

The ecosystem that has more area than all of Earth’s land masses combined is the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Ocean is an oceanic biome that is located between the Americas, Asian and Australian continents. It is the largest of the world’s five oceans ocean and is approximately 63.8 million square miles full of saltwater, ecosystems, and organisms. The ocean is an average of 13,000 feet deep and covers more than 30 percent of the Earth’s surface. These are just a few defining characteristics of…

deserted villages, discarded fishing boards, and dead fisheries. Not only overfishing is causing the decrease in population of fish, but because of waste like dead fish, and human pollution. Pollution causes the CO2 levels to rise and this makes the phytoplankton which fish feed on die. This also causes the pastures which fish also feed on die off too. This is a huge impact on the fish because not only do the fish have to deal with being fished too much, but also with food decreasing. The fish…

Conventional Agriculture and its Effect on Water Quality in the United States Introduction The United States contains a vast amount of natural resources within a land area that covers nearly 2.3 billion acres. Fifty-one percent of the United States land base has been converted into grassland, pasture, range, cropland, and other miscellaneous farmland uses. Agriculture uses 80% of the ground and surface water within the United States, which has an enormous effect on the water quality. 1…

A grandparent’s love for their grandchild is something that cannot be explained, even the brightest mind cannot conjure up a word for this kind of love. Merriam Webster defines a grandfather as the father of your mother or father, but my grandfather was so much more. My grandfather was the glue in my life, he was the sun in my sky and the light of my path. Anitapoems says “My grandfather had the wisdom of an owl, the sense of humor of a headless chicken, and the heart of an angel.” And I agree…

reducing carbon emissions, professionals also suggest geoengineering of Earth’s atmosphere. Geoengineering of the atmosphere would include finding ways to lower the amount of carbon dioxide, such as growing larger populations of organisms like phytoplankton which use up carbon dioxide. Some professions have proposed the idea of dumping fertilizers into Earth’s oceans to encourage algal blooms artificially in hopes that the algae will use up vast amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and…

On a global scale, fish has increasingly become an important food source. Today, our demands far exceed the sustainable yield of fish in our oceans. Our responses towards this issue have included the industrialization of fishing and fish farming. But fish, one of our most important sources of high-quality protein, provides some 16% of the animal protein consumed by the world’s population, (Food & Agriculture Organization, FAO, of the United Nations, 1997). For this reason, fish stocks are being…

For generations, Lake Taihu, China’s third largest freshwater lake in Wuni, Jiangsu Province, has provided a home and livelihood for over two million people. By way of contrast, in late May, 2007, a drinking water crisis took place following a massive bloom of the toxin producing cyanobacteria Microcystis spp. in Lake Taihu.2 Ultimately, due to unusual growth of algae, the lake digressed to completely green. Local reports say algae density is 38% higher than it was in 2016. Lake Taihu was known…

Human Influences on Global Climate Change The earth has been around for about 4.5 billion years, and the climate has been changing throughout that time period. Most of this climate change is in a sense normal because it is due to small variations in the Earth’s orbit or due to natural influences such as solar changes or volcanic eruptions. Although the occurrence of climate change is relatively settled and accepted, some uncertainty remains as to whether humans and their ecological footprint…